Volatile
by Anxious Owl
Summary: Something about him both terrifies her and draws her closer, like a moth to a flame. She feels like he needs someone, but knows that getting too close could get her burnt. Sian/Barry. AU continuation of episode 18. Chapter 3 up!
1. Chapter 1

Now I can't be the only one to notice the suffocating tension in the last episode, so I decided to explore it.

Here we have an AU continuation of the end of Series 8, Episode 18.

* * *

Volatile

She was trying to convince herself that her hand was trembling because of the cold. Her whole body was shivering slightly as she slid her key into the lock. There was a strong gale battering the coast and was set to continue for the rest of the week. But it was so much more than that. She had felt eyes on her all the way along the solitary walk to her home, but reasoned that it was just delayed nerves from the drama of the day.

Unbidden images flashed behind her eyes. There was Kacey's face, streaked with inky tears; her screaming piercing the thick glass of the PRU; the manic look in Barry's eyes as he turned to look at her. Was she wrong in hoping that she had seen the barest flicker of regret? He hadn't paused for anyone else... yet he carried on nonetheless.

She understood how Tom felt; he wasn't the only one being emotionally drained at the hands of a Barry.

Even after the elder sibling's little display in the cooler she still couldn't be sure. He looked as though his entire world had been turned on its head, taking him with it. She couldn't fathom how his love for Kacey had dissolved into hatred so easily, by something she couldn't help. Kacey meant more to him than the rest of his family, perhaps combined, but that didn't excuse his appalling treatment of his little sister. Not to mention Sian. She could still feel him towering over her, his gaze physically pushing her down. She didn't know why he had such an effect on her. No other student had before.

She hitched her bag on her arm to keep from dropping it, and was about to enter into the warmth when something in her peripheral vision made her stop cold. Every fibre in her body tensed. Gathering up the courage she had failed to muster before, she faced him head on with the wind whipping at her hair.

Buttoned up to the collar and glaring at her.

Barry.

* * *

Please review and let me know if you enjoyed this (or not :P) and if I should continue.

Thank you :)


	2. Chapter 2

Wow, I got such a great response to the first chapter, thank you!

Here we have the second instalment, enjoy...

* * *

Chapter 2

She attempted to channel confidence into her voice. "Barry. What are you doing here?"

A smirk curved on his lips, but didn't reach his eyes. He maintained his composure. "Just admiring the view."

She bristled at his reply, but pushed on, refusing to cave. "You're in enough hot water as it is with what you've done today. Don't make things any worse."

He advanced slowly, "We're not in school anymore, _Miss. _You can't tell me what to do."

"As if you'd listen to a word I'd say anyway." She deadpanned, trying to appear cool-headed even though the panic was beginning to rise in her chest.

He was now barely a metre from her, the wind picking at his hair. "Oh but Miss, I have been listening. I remember everything you've said to me."

She remained silent, trying to digest what he was saying. She kept cursing the fact that she had opened her front door before noticing him; she had practically made a path for him. Her grip on her keys tightened. He came ever closer, slowly invading her personal space. "I remember that you didn't answer my question, Miss." He said softly, making her title sound less and less respectful. It almost sounded teasing.

She felt frozen to the spot. She wanted to run inside and slam the door behind her, blocking him out. But she also wanted to stay and peer into the Barry very few had seen, no matter how sinister he appeared. This was one of his particular brands of torture, the same he had executed in the cooler barely an hour ago. You couldn't ignore him. He wouldn't let you.

He tilted his head slightly to one side, a stray whorl of hair blowing against his forehead. "I want," he breathed, "No, I would _appreciate _an answer, Miss."

She swallowed as he spoke; not noticing that they were now barely inches apart.

"...Am I a _boy _to you... or am I a man?"

He brought his face close enough for her feel the heat radiating off of him, for her hair to stroke his face in the air.

"..._Miss._"

Her hand was slack on her bag though her heart was hammering against her ribs. His eyes roamed over hers, down the bridge of her nose, to her lips. She had no way out. However she realised that a small part of her didn't care. Until her previously non-existent courage reared its head to goad him.

"My answer's the same as it would've been in the cooler." She met his ice-blue gaze.

He looked at her, surprised, and she thought she had caught him off guard... until he laughed. He slipped his hands into his pockets and stepped back, resting on his heels. She immediately mourned the loss of his presence. She came to her senses and her hands tightened around her belongings once again. He gave her a devilish smile, one that she wasn't sure she should be receiving from a student.

"See you for our one-to-one tomorrow, Miss."

With that he turned, still looking at her, and strode down the path against the wind. Her shoulders slumped as she replayed what had just transpired through her head. She suddenly realised that her front door was still open and hastily made her way inside, closing the door firmly behind her, double-locking it for peace of mind. She dropped her bag onto the sofa in the living room and shed her coat and heels. She padded into the kitchen and flicked the kettle on, craving something hot to soothe her quaking nerves. As the kettle boiled she leant against the counter and ran her hands over her face, considering his parting words. Her stomach dropped.

She had put him back on emergency measures because of that betting stunt. She would have to see him, alone, every day. Her morals wouldn't allow her to take him off and jeopardise his progress over some bad behaviour. But was it really that trivial? Would she be able to keep control over the situation next time, when she had failed today? Things just seemed to escalate with him, without her even realising. They had almost crossed the line. She couldn't let that happen again; she was a teacher, a professional, and a damn good one at that. She couldn't let the likes of Barry Barry get to her.

No matter how much that small, rebellious part of her wanted to.

* * *

Evil, I know :P

Please review and let me know what you think!


	3. Chapter 3

This chapter was written in the context that the previous episode where Sian slaps Barry, Sian is saved by the kids, Sian resigns etc. **still happens**.

I like to keep as close to the original storyline as possible so it feels more realistic (even though no school is like Waterloo Road :P).

Any-who, let's keep the Barry/Sian bandwagon rolling shall we…

* * *

He dropped his blazer onto his bed and began to loosen his tie as he mulled over another incredibly eventful day. Mrs. Diamond had been sacked. _He _had gotten her sacked. Well, technically, she had resigned, but _he_ was still the root cause. All because she'd slapped him, right across the mouth. He rubbed his lips together; he could feel the patch of dry skin from which he had been bleeding only a few hours prior. He felt a grim sense of satisfaction that she'd left a mark on him. He left his room and made his way to the bathroom to check out his battle scar.

At first, he had been shocked. The normally calm, collected and well-put-together Mrs. Diamond from his previous recollections would never have done such a thing, which is probably why he had felt secure in how far he pushed her. He had wanted to antagonise her to the point where she would give up on antagonising _him _with her interfering and let them deal with their issues in peace. The idea that he had elicited such a reaction from her both surprised and fascinated him. He had uncovered a whole other side to her, a side he wanted to explore. Unfortunately now he wouldn't be able to. Unless…

His train of thought was broken as Dynasty came out of her room, stopping him on his way. He recognised the look on her face. She didn't agree with him at all and she said just as much. "What the hell did you do that for?"

"She got what was coming to her." He responded gruffly.

"More like you did," she looked pointedly at his lip, "Seriously, though, _sexual harassment_?"

"Who told you?"

She looked smug. "The whole school knows what a prat you were being and now they're not scared of you no more."

"Yeah? Well, they should be. I got her _sacked_."

She saw through him. "Whatever. No-one backed you up. She only left because she's got more decency in her little finger than you've got in your whole body."

"You listen-" he came up close, but she carried on nonetheless.

"-No, you listen to me. Your baby sister's in there," she gestured towards the box room at the end of the hall, "And she hates you. She thought that you would help her, protect her, but you just did the opposite. Don't say you did it for her, or for us. You were just lookin' out for number one."

He scowled at her as she pushed past him to the bathroom. She had always had more courage than Kasey. But now even his little sis stood up to him. He suddenly felt very alone. If things went wrong in the past he knew that he could rely on his family for support. Now he wasn't so sure. He had felt attacked when everyone had started shouting, all saying that they had hit him. It felt sharpest when Kasey said it. He saw them all again in his mind's eye, Kasey, Zoe, their friends, Jack, Libby, everyone. He relived the humiliation, being dragged away as everyone cheered, as if he was the villain. He had just been trying to keep them all away from his family, do what was best for them, like Dad had taught him. Why couldn't they see that? He wasn't a villain... was he? No. It was all them, _her_, sticking their noses where they didn't belong.

He was brimming with resentment, a hurt that was about to overflow. At that point, Kasey left her room. As she turned to make her way down the stairs she caught his eye. Instead of ducking away like he had expected, she looked him straight in the eyes, hardness there that he didn't recognise. He hated what was happening; everything was spinning out of control.

He didn't know his best friend anymore. His hold at that school was slipping away. He didn't have anyone on his side.

All because of _her_. She had been the catalyst. She had judged his character after barely a few weeks with him. She didn't know him and she didn't know Kasey. She wrote him off as stupid schoolboy. He had tried hard to prove his worth but she'd spoilt everything and gotten too close to his family.

Without quite knowing what he was doing, he was charging straight back into his room. He grabbed his jacket and left the house, pulling it on as his body went onto auto-pilot, taking him somewhere he really shouldn't be going.

* * *

The sea air was uncharacteristically still. He had been standing there for a good five minutes, trying to work out what in _the hell _he was doing. It wasn't quite dark yet, but it wasn't quite light either. He had been there that morning, prying open the French doors...

This time he was at the front door, like the evening before. He clenched and unclenched his fists. His head was pulsing. All he had to do was knock, wait for her to open and let out everything. Tell her that it was all her fault, not his. He carried out the first two steps flawlessly.

The third, however, he did not.

She was wearing a sky blue top with a grey cardigan and dark jeans. She had opened the door normally, but gripped it fiercely when she realised who it was. _Stupid, stupid..._

For once, he was speechless. The strongest emotion he sensed was fear. It was all there in the wide, wet look in her eyes. And he didn't know what to say. Hell, he didn't even know why he was there. The powerful surge of anger evaporated as quickly as it had come. Funny, it hadn't earlier on.

"W-What do you want from me? I've left, you got what you wanted."

He spoke without registering what he was saying. "What if that wasn't what I wanted?"

Confusion replaced some of the fear. "What?"

"You heard me."

She abruptly opened the door wider. "If that wasn't what you wanted, then why did you lose me my job?"

He rose to the accusation. "If I remember correctly, _you_ were the one who hit me."

"Because you had been harassing me all day!"

"Don't act like you didn't feel anything!" He blurted out.

She was about to come back with a prickly retort when she noticed the meaning behind his statement. It wasn't entirely... sexual. No, she had to be misunderstood, tired and emotionally drained after a long day. He couldn't possibly mean what she thought.

He swallowed thickly, wanting to unleash all of the bitterness that had welled up inside of him, but reined himself in. "Why couldn't you just leave us alone?" He bit out.

She firmed up, no longer caring for her safety. "That's rich, coming from you. Following me home, breaking into my house, _stealing _my personal belongings…," she slowed down as it dawned on her.

His gaze was concentrated and his jaw set tight. "I thought you were different. I thought you liked me, for _me_. But no. We were just some project for you to haul up in front of your boyfriend."

"That's not true!"

"Isn't it?!"

They both stood staring at each other in a seemingly never ending stalemate.

Until he kissed her.

* * *

Not quite sure if that chapter was any good. But at least the moment you were all waiting for finally came!

Please, please leave a comment! :D


End file.
